The Bovey Memorial and Honor Windows
On the viewer’s left is the “Cross and Crown Window”. These two symbols, when viewed together are
indicative of Christ triumphant—the Empty Cross showing His victory over death
and the Crown indicating His Kingdom which shall have no end.
On the viewer’s right is the “These Three Abide Window”. The Bible stands open, presumably to I
Corinthians Chapter 13, the Apostle Paul’s great hymn to love, in which we learn
that the Christian virtues of Faith, Hope and Charity abide—and the greatest of
these is Charity (or Love). Also in the
window can be seen an anchor, which was an early secret Christian symbol for
the cross, and is always a symbol of salvation, hope and constancy.
Both
windows bear inscriptions indicating their origins, the left “In Memory of Mrs.
Mary E. Bovey” and the right “In Honor of Rev. H. A. Bovey”. Research by Dr. Dalles indicates that The
Rev. Henry A Bovey was born October 19, 1831 in Washington, Maryland, the son
of Elizabeth Reinhart and Adam I. Bovey.
His wife Mary E. Stein Bovey was born in 1837 in Pennsylvania. The Rev. Bovey had served a congregation in Virginia
(where all six of their children were born) but by 1880 was serving a
congregation in Blendon (near Columbus), Franklin County, Ohio, where he died
in 1910. They were the parents of three
sons and three daughters. The pair of
windows was probably created after Mary’s death but before 1910.
It seems fitting that on every Sunday, Wekiva Presbyterian Church worshipers concentrate on the Cross flanked by these two windows, which together remind us of the cross and crown of our Lord, and the central virtues of Christian living.
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